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IELTS GENERAL WRITING TRAINING | MAKS BELA

How does MAKS BELA's IELTS general writing training differ?

If you are planning to take the IELTS GT module, the writing test would be different from the Academic test. Candidates are allowed one hour to complete two tasks, of 150 and 250 words, as in the Academic module. However, Task 1 is always either an informal or semiformal letter. Letters are always considered as an important form of communication. In the IELTS General Training Writing Task, 1 test candidates are given situations they have to write in the first person and imagine themselves in the situation given and write a letter in an appropriate style in order to achieve a certain outcome. It is important to remember that a letter is a form of communication and candidates have to make it very intuitive. They need to include all the necessary details so that the purpose of your letter is clear and the reader can easily understand your message. MAKS BELA offers them various types of scenarios and trains them to fulfil the requirement of the task.

TASK TWO is an essay based on a topic given on the question paper. Candidates should write at least 250 words in 40 minutes. The candidates are expected to produce a written argument on a given topic and to organize your answer clearly, given some examples to support your points. The candidates must keep in mind that Task Two carries more weight in the final band score than Task One. MAKS BELA IELTS Academic writing task 2 coaching supports the candidate to present a clear, relevant, well-organized argument, giving evidence or examples to support ideas and use language accurately.

IELTS General Writing description

Task 1

In IELTS General Writing Task 1, test takers are presented with a situation and required to write a personal response in the form of an informal, semi-formal or formal letter of at least 150 words in the answer booklet provided. The situations they are asked to write about are common, everyday ones such as writing to a college accommodation officer about problems with accommodation, writing to a new employer about time management problems they are having, writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport, writing to a renting agency to sort out problems with the heating system in their house.

Test takers are told what kind of information (in the form of three bullet points) they must include in their response. They may be required to request or give information and/or explain a situation. To do this, they may need to do some of the following: ask for and/or provide general factual information, express needs, wants, likes or dislikes, express opinions or complaints, make requests or make suggestions/recommendations.

The style of writing that test takers use depends on who they are asked to write to (i.e. the audience) and how well they are supposed to know them. They need to write in a style that is appropriate for their audience and that will help them to achieve their purpose for writing, e.g. writing to a friend (informal) or writing to a manager (semi-formal or formal). Test takers do not need to include any addresses at the head of their letters.

Test takers should spend no more than 20 minutes on this task. They are asked to write at least 150 words and will be penalized if their answer is too short. While test-takers will not be penalized for writing more than 150 words, they should remember that a longer Task 1 answer may mean that they have less time to spend on Task 2, which contributes twice as much to the Writing band score.

Test takers should also note that they will be penalized for irrelevance if the response is off-topic or is not written as full, connected text (e.g. using bullet points in any part of the response, or note form, etc.). They will be severely penalized for plagiarism (i.e. copying from another source).

What is tested?

This task assesses the ability to follow English letter-writing conventions (i.e. what order to put information in, what style to use, how to start and finish a letter), to use language accurately and appropriately and to organize and link information coherently and cohesively.

Task 2

In Writing Task 2, test takers write a semi-formal/neutral discursive essay of at least 250 words in the answer book provided.

The task instructions give information about a point of view, argument or problem. They then tell test-takers how to discuss this, which may involve providing general factual information, outlining and/or presenting a solution, justifying an opinion, evaluating evidence and ideas.

Topics are of general interest, - such as: whether children's leisure activities should be educational, why families are not so close as they used to be and how they could be brought closer, how environmental problems can be solved, who should pay for the care of old people, whether smoking should be banned in public places.

Test takers should make sure that they complete the task carefully and provide a full and relevant response. They should organize their ideas clearly and make sure to support their argument with relevant examples (including from their own experience where relevant) or evidence. For this task, test-takers need to be able to communicate more abstract and complex ideas and use a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. Task 2 contributes twice as much to the final Writing band score as Task 1. Therefore, test takers who fail to attempt to answer this task will greatly reduce their chance of achieving a good score.

Test takers are asked to write at least 250 words and will be penalized if their answer is too short. They should spend no more than 40 minutes on this task.

Test takers should also note that they will be penalized for irrelevance if the response is off-topic or is not written as full, connected text (e.g. using bullet points in any part of the response, or note form, etc.). They will be severely penalized for plagiarism (i.e. copying from another source).

What is tested?

This task assesses the ability to follow English discursive writing conventions (i.e. what order to put information in, what style to use, how to start and finish discursive writing, how to paragraph), to organize and link information coherently and cohesively and to use language accurately and appropriately.

IELTS General Training Writing - How it's marked

Marking and assessment

Writing responses are assessed by certificated IELTS examiners. All IELTS examiners hold relevant teaching qualifications and are recruited as examiners by the test centres and approved by the British Council or IDP: IELTS Australia.

Each task is assessed independently. The assessment of Task 2 carries more weight in marking than Task 1. Scores are reported in whole and half bands. Detailed performance descriptors have been developed which describe written performance at the nine IELTS bands. They are available on the How IELTS is scored page. The descriptors apply to both the Academic and General Training versions and are based on the following criteria.

Task 1 responses are assessed on:

  • Task achievement
  • Coherence and cohesion
  • Lexical resource
  • Grammatical range and accuracy.

Task 2 responses are assessed on:

  • Task response
  • Coherence and cohesion
  • Lexical resource
  • Grammatical range and accuracy.

Task 1

Task achievement

This assesses how appropriately, accurately and relevantly the response fulfils the requirements set out in the task, using a minimum of 150 words. General Training Writing Task 1 is a writing task with a largely predictable output in that each task sets out the context and purpose of the letter and the functions the test taker should cover in order to achieve this purpose.

Coherence and cohesion

This assesses the overall clarity and fluency of the message: how the response organizes and links information, ideas, and language. Coherence refers to the linking of ideas through logical sequencing. Cohesion refers to the varied and appropriate use of cohesive devices (for example, logical connectors, pronouns, and conjunctions) to assist in making the conceptual and referential relationships between and within sentences clear.

Lexical resource

This refers to the range of vocabulary the test takers have used and the accuracy and appropriacy of use in terms of the specific task.

Grammatical range and accuracy

This refers to the range and accurate use of grammar, as manifested in the test takers' sentence writing.

Grammatical range and accuracy

This refers to the range and accurate use of grammar as manifested in their sentence writing.

Task 2

Task response

In both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training versions, Task 2 requires test takers to formulate and develop a position with a given prompt in the form of a question or statement. Ideas should be supported by evidence, and examples may be drawn from the test-takers' own experience. Responses must be at least 250 words in length. Scripts under the required minimum word limit will be penalized.

Coherence and cohesion

This assesses the overall clarity and fluency of the message: how the response organizes and links information, ideas, and language. Coherence refers to the linking of ideas through logical sequencing. Cohesion refers to the varied and appropriate use of cohesive devices (for example, logical connectors, pronouns, and conjunctions) to assist in making the conceptual and referential relationships between and within sentences clear.

Lexical resource

This criterion refers to the range of vocabulary used and its accuracy and appropriacy in terms of the specific task.

Grammatical range and accuracy

This assesses the range and accurate use of grammar, as manifested in their test takers&apos writing at the sentence level.